Free Betrayed by Melinda Metz - Fingerprints - 5 Page B

to call me nuggle bunny, which came from snuggle bunny, which she thought up one night when-"
    "I get it," Anthony said, cutting him off and taking another long swallow of his Gatorade to wash the bitter taste out of his throat. "So what was the upshot? What'd she say when you gave it to her?"
    Marcus shook his head. "She said she wasn't ready to get back together. That's it. But the way she said it, it was, like, I don't know, like she'd already decided it was never going to happen."
    Cords of heat shot from his belly up and down his body, like he was having an internal power surge. What, you think because Rae doesn't want Marcus today that means something? Anthony asked himself. Yana told you that she's still in love with him, remember? The girl is obviously just getting a little payback. And good for her. Marcus deserved to be tortured for a while.
    Anthony glanced over to where the other guys were huddled. Time to get back on track. "So, theRae thing, is that why you're having trouble… concentrating out there?"
    "I guess." Marcus dropped back his head and sighed. "It's like I keep thinking there's something I can do to make her change her mind right now."
    "I already told you what I thought," Anthony answered. "You've gotta prove yourself to her. And that could take a while." He forced himself to go on. "But it'll happen. I, uh, heard one of her friends saying that she's not over you."
    Marcus's head snapped up. "Really? Who said it?"
    Anthony felt like he'd eaten an ice cream cone too fast. There was this cold pain building behind his eyes. He ignored it and gave a shrug. "I don't know her name. But the girl sounded like she knew Rae pretty well."
    "You're sure you heard her right?" Marcus asked.
    "Yeah. So you think you can pull your head out now and get us through the rest of the game?" Anthony asked.
    Marcus smiled. A ridiculously big smile. "I think I can manage that. Now that I know I've still got a chance with Rae."
    Why'd you even doubt you would get what you want? Anthony wondered. Don't you know guys like you always do?
    ***
    "So, you think the guy who kidnapped me is the same guy who killed this girl's mother?" Jesse asked Rae as they headed down Mandy Reese's street. "And also the same guy who tried to off you?"
    "Yeah. I'm not absolutely sure, but yeah," Rae told him.
    Jesse nodded. Rae could see the muscles in his throat working. "What are we going to do when we find him?" he asked.
    "Turn him over to the police, I guess," Rae said. She couldn't believe she'd never thought about that. "All I care about is that he's kept far away from all of us."
    "Better ways of doing that," Jesse muttered. His eyes seemed to be made of blue steel, and for that instant he looked… inhuman.
    "Let's worry about finding him for now," Rae said.
    Maybe I shouldn't have brought him here, she thought. I could have figured out a way to distract Mandy on my own. She shot another look at Jesse. He really looks like he could… God, like he's prepared to kill someone. I should have left him out of this. It's not good for him.
    Too late now, she told herself. And she had to admit it felt good to have someone on her side again.
    Especially considering what she was about to do. It had seemed so obvious when the thought struck her this morning-the fact that there was another way to learn more about Amanda Reese's murder. Mandy had told her and Yana that the car her mother was carjacked in was back at her house, sitting in the garage and never used anymore. Which meant it probably had some prints on it-possibly prints that could give Rae a clue about Amanda Reese's killer. Still, the prospect of getting up close and personal with the car Amanda had been in before she was…
    Well, it wasn't something Rae was looking forward to.
    "Mandy's is that yellow house up there," Rae said, pointing it out to Jesse. She picked up her pace, almost trotting when she swung up Mandy's front walk. "You ready?" she asked him when they reached the